Rep. Marilyn Musgrave’s office wrote a $480 check on Wednesday to avoid a possible violation of congressional ethics rules for free use of a vacation cabin during a recent staff retreat.

Musgrave took the action after the Rocky Mountain News questioned her staff’s free use of a cabin near rural Culpepper, Va., for two nights in late January.

The cabin has a rich political history. Owned by well-known conservative activist Morton C. Blackwell, it’s where Republican leaders signed the "Contract with America" that helped the party seize control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994.

Musgrave chief of staff, Guy Short, said he has known Blackwell for 15 years since they worked together at The Leadership Institute. Founded by Blackwell, it trains leaders who promote "free enterprise, limited government and traditional values," according to its web site.

Short said he contacted Blackwell about using the cabin when he was making arrangements for the retreat Jan. 24 and 25. Short said they did not discuss a payment because he and Blackwell are friends.

However, House ethics rules explicitly ban private groups or individuals from providing anything of monetary value, such as food, materials or meeting space, to defray congressional offices' costs for official events, including retreats, according to a 2001 advisory opinion (www.house.gov/ethics/m_events.htm) from the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

"With very limited exceptions ... such outside assistance may not be accepted for an event sponsored by a House office," according to the 2001 opinion, which was signed by retired Rep. Joel Hefley of Colorado, the Republican who chaired the committee at the time.

The 2001 memo discussed staff retreats in detail and stated they "may not take place on private property unless the sponsoring office pays fair value for its use."

The reason is to avoid a perception that private interests have undue influence.

None of the few exceptions cited in the memo appear to apply to Musgrave’s use of the privately owned cabin.

After consulting an attorney at the ethics committee, Musgrave’s office requested a bill for $240 per night of use and cut a check on Wednesday, Short said.

Staff retreats are common ways for congressional offices to build teamwork and strategies for the coming year. Musgrave’s four-day event consisted of two days at a hotel in suburban Washington, D.C., and two days at the three-bedroom cabin.

Musgrave did not attend the cabin sessions, but about 15 staff members did.

"We slept on the floor in sleeping bags," Short said. "There were 15 of us. One of the major goals of our retreat was to learn to work together. We thought, what a great idea."

Hefley said he was unaware of Musgrave’s situation. By paying the tab, Musgrave likely has ended the matter, Hefley said.

"The ethics committee is not in the business of trying to find opportunities to bring the hammer down," Hefley said. "What they want you to do is do the right thing. If you made a mistake and immediately try to take action to correct it, my guess is there wouldn't be any more coming from it."

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